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what are studio owners doing wrong
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I kinda like being on my own now. There was nothing wrong with any of the studios I’ve worked, I think I’m just really creative and really stubborn so working with others as just a team member is hard, I like to manage and be in charge and create and get tons of credit hahahaha!
I used to manage a music shop that sold guitars and stuff like that and I can say from that experience I learned that musicians often made the worst sales people and they were never, ever on time, they sold what they liked not what buyers needed necessarily and they’re so passionate, you’ll get a fender guy talking smack about every other guitar out there and the guy in front of them wants to buy a Gibson, lol! That passion makes them amazing artists but really poor sales people. I think the same rings true with pole. I’m very passionate about my methods which makes me a great teacher for some, I’ve had students say I’m the best they ever had, (and even more so think im off my freaking rocker) but in turn it makes me a crappy employee/contractor because I’m so pigheaded. I can be very judgmental when it comes to teaching, I gravitate towards certain kinds of instructors when I take classes and I like very specific things in teachers so even on that level I’m hard to please. So, I know that on inside of a studio I’m difficult so then I think that’s just me and the owner is having to work around just me and my stuff, I know the other instructors have their issues and quirks too so it’s kind of a management nightmare when you are building a great team, product aside. The more passionate an instructor is the more likely heads will butt and then you get 5 or 6 in a room and its explosive. The best teams seems to have specific players that are great in a particular area. One of the teams I was one had the floor/sexy girl, the dancer girl and me the trick girl. We all were good at stuff the others did incredibly well but it felt like special ops in a way, the floor girl would come to my class for tricks, I’d go to her class to polish my floor and get my sexy one and the dancer girl would help us with combos and transitions and we all just gelled because we had our thing. I’ve also seen teams of similar instructors work too, it doesn’t work for me though. By far some of the best instructors I’ve had were the ones that weren’t super artistic and crazy out there and could just teach a move, lol. Which is weird because I think I’d like crazy but I guess I want to be the insane one with ideas, I need a grounded person (unless is Choreo then the weirder the better.)
I will also say that by and large the things I’ve noticed and heard about that contribute to the demise of studios is not having the right instructors (applies to personality and skill) and generally no management and an absent owner. In many cases owners have other jobs to support the studio in the early days, and you need to because its not cheap. It’s not their fault even but it sure makes everything harder, it’s really expensive to pay someone to man phones and emails, that’s a desk job that requires minimum wage and insurance, so I get why so many people try to own a studio, work a job and have a family…I have so much respect for the hard working owners out there because help is expensive and your time is limited. Everyone is doing the best they can.
If you can run a successful studio with happy instructors that like each other and happy clients, you can literally do anything, and I know women who do. It’s amazing when it happens.
My final thought too is lack of education. Studios need to be constantly educating themselves somehow. I like teacher training right now vs cert as I did a cert and don’t really feel like renewing because its an expense that doesnt really net me new knowledge, when I’ve proven I know all the info at that level and can competently teach it. I think many pole studios live on having a great dancer/trickster/performer on staff and promote that but don’t spend enough time studying the physical aspects, the teaching, the grips, the techniques, etc. just because you taught yourself doesn’t mean you can teach it to someone else, that’s where it comes back to management and regular staff practices are very handy plus regular staff training. I don’t think you have to have a celebrity come necessarily but keeping up on pole and its growth will help provide a better product.
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Interesting topic! I would also like to add that while everything everyone brought up can most definitely contribute to a studios failure I would add that Groupon and Livingsocial and the likes do not help.
As a studio owner they are a plus for brining in new clients and “free” advertising BUT the trick after is retention. We have gained a nice core of students from the coupon experiment but it can be a very expensive, frustrating experiment. In LA there are so many studios and at any given moment you can pick up a Groupon for pole. As a consumer these sites are great – hell if I didn’t want to pay full price for a yoga class for the rest of my life I wouldn’t have to – and I can say I have been known to studio hop myself but it doesn’t help the studios any and while it’s cheaper for the students it makes it hard for them to grow at a studio.
Obviously the goal is to have the students love the studio and become regulars but it’s hard when next month there’s another coupon for 10 classes for $29.00.
Also as far as Multi level classes I think it is really possible to run them and have them be exciting for all students. The key is to make sure the environment at the studio is all inclusive – supportive and unified. classes can’t be huge and the teachers skill level is tantamount! Our Multi level classes have a nice warm up, free dance (depending on the students in class that day) pole moves/tricks & choreo work on a mini routine with the moves worked on in class. The students will work on a move progression for their skill level but everyone starts at basically the same place. So while the beginners pass might be a back hook, pole bend and floor work the more advanced student might be doing a back hook to chopper to something else. This way all the students get to dance together and it creates a strong bond for them all in class.
I think it’s also super important to offer other types of classes. Whether that’s stretching, cardo, workshops etc. Owning a studio is amazing but it is extremely hard work and not typically profitable 😄 as someone mentioned earlier – there’s no way I could do it without a full time job as well.
I would suggest speaking to your studio owners with any questions or concerns – the good ones will actually appreciate the feedback. I can honestly say one of the suggestions we got from one of our students was a HUGE help lol – I owe her big time! Feedback from students is so important so please reach out to your studios and let us know what we are doing wrong as well as right😄
We are just about to hit our 2 year mark in a couple of days – I hope we make it to 3!
-typed on my phone so please excuse any typos -
Veruca….oh my god I cannot believe it has almost been 2 years!
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Veruca- awesome point, those vouchers are great for new clients to,give it a try but it also results in students in not feeling they should ever pay full price because they can pick up cheap classes everywhere. I had a student buy a groupon to a studio and ask to be moved up to the level she’s at and even wanted me to ask the studio for her. I felt that was kind of wrong. While she hadn’t been to that studio before I worked there i know their product well and it’s an awesome place to take classes, I felt like at her experience level she shouldn’t be trying out a place just to get cheap classes. I refused to vouch for her. I felt really upset for the studio because I know this is my regular, she doesn’t plan to spend any real money with the studio…feels really wrong.
When I worked at 2 studios simultaneously I would often see the same student at both locations because of this too. They’d spend the real money on studio A and buy vouchers for studio B which is fine if you’re checking out a new place but not so much when you have no intention of paying regular prices.
I’ve had some great retention with groupons in my classes though when I used to,teach at studios, around 50 percent would stay on.
I agree multilevel,is a great way to teach but for me I like to keep total newbies in flow classes that use only basic moves and then move them into a multilevel trick focused class. It’s still tough some days for me, I have to be really careful to make sure everyone is feeling good especially with a couple of super human girls I have. I wouldn’t want my human girls to feel bad or vice versus. It’s definitely getting into a groove with everyone and making it about the love of pole and not out tricking, not letting people get overly competitive. I like smaller groups and pole sharing but I am not sure that’s marketable in my area since everyone seems to have moved to 1/pole. I like the buddy system though, my classes are much tighter because of it, they really enjoy each other more this way.
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Yup to the brand new newbie – when we have a new student sign in its time consuming but we call them to say hi and get their background so we can guide them into the appropriate class for them – then we let the instructors know ahead of time if there are new people in class and their skill level. Our classes are also coed which brings another dynamic to the situation which I will say at first I was not completely sold on lol but now I love it! We literally have had women, men, transgendered, grand moms and little people in classes! It is such a family environment – I’m proud of that
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A comment about Groupon and Livingsocial. These two companies provide very valuable services that can be very helpful to a business, they can drive massive amounts of traffic to you.
Their biggest failing is that they provide no education on what to do with that traffic. Post sale retention is a skill that takes years to learn organically, so if you are not provided with the tools to retain these people who walk through your doors the investment can be useless.
If you want to do a Groupon make sure that you have done extensive homework and put together a retention strategy.
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So true Webmaster! We worked hard on figuring out a retention plan as well as a plan to engage our current clientele at the end of our living socials (don’t you hate it when somewhere you have been loyal to for ever runs specials for the “new” people but nothing for the loyal customers). It is such a huge learning experience, but one that is worthwhile in the end – I think it’s super important to listen to the students as well as speak to as many studio owners as possible to gain insight into what we should do, can do & shouldn’t do to ensure happy students and studio growth😄
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Webby- yes! I have used these sites personally to find great businesses I still use. The biggest issue with these vouchers in regards to pole is that many times voucher clients are treated like voucher clients. Often times the product is so under priced that the leap to making someone a full on paid client is difficult. I’ve seen stupid deals like $20/20 yoga classes. Really? Is the product that bad that you are charging $1/class? That’s way too cheap. You have to be smart about these kinds of deals, offer incentives for clients to stay and keep in line with regular cost. Understand you will get studio bouncers and those who are curious but not committed. You’ve got one chance to make their experience amazing, be prepared for the over flow of phone calls and make scheduled classes readily available and don’t over book classes just because there are a lot of voucher holders in them. Give them the same respect you would a full paying client.
I have seen these work first hand, I’ve always had girls stay, I have had girls say they aren’t into pole and its not for them too, you can kind of tell. Timing is critical also with these deals.
Veruca, I’d love to come visit your family, that just sounds so awesome!
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That is a good point Charley. Offers do need to be better crafted. Perceived value is better if your offer is an add-on rather than a reduction in price.
Get a free $50 individual assessment and training and fitness plan with the purchase of two group lessons. (for example)
Then you can meet Group On’s 50% discount requirement while maintaining your product value and selling something that doesn’t cost you anything.
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Regarding Groupons–that’s what got me to the studio and I have stayed. I probably would never have tried it without the coupon. Groupons, Living Social, etc. have gotten me to try all sorts of things I never would have tried. I do stick with the ones I like. As others have said, I could buy a discounted massage every week but one of my Groupons turned out to be with an outstanding masseuse and I have been his client for a year now. Someone said that you can’t provide a “discount” level service to the coupon clients if you expect to keep them–so true. If my masseuse had given me a “discount” level massage, I wouldn’t still be his client now.
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Discounts on occasion are a great way to show appreciation to your current clients and to entice future clients to try your product. The Value in the Discounts sites is the advertising, social media exposure, higher listing on the internet, and it creates an environment for people to try something they are curious about. IF YOUR BUSINESS CANNOT KEEP THE CLIENT, THATS THE BUSINESSES FAULT. not the coupons. Maintaining the integrity of your business at all times, regardless of discount or not and it will bring you great rewards. When I run promos…I have certain classes those people can go into, so that my current clientele can still enjoy their sessions without having a new person slow them down. If my current clients want to take part in the discount they are welcome too, but they have to go into those “other” classes too. Maintain quality at your facility and always do a little more than you think you should, and never underestimate or undervalue each and every client.
What business owners are doing wrong…
1.Thinking it will be easy
2.thinking that everyone will think just like you do
3.not being able to adapt to their clientele and employes’s wants and need
4.competing with the competition.. you opened a business to bring your presence into the market…stop poaching and coping others peoples ideas and ways.
5. learning the business side.
6. call people back and communicate well
7. keep your place cleanI have successfully owned and managed my facility for over ten years. I consider myself someone who is qualified to answer this question from an owners point of view. Until you walk a mile in someone’s shoes you will not have a clue about what their life is really like. Speculation is a dangerous friend.
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Pegasus, I hope you didn’t read any disrespect in my posts towards owners. There are many, many reasons I don’t own a pole studio. I’ve seen first hand what owners go through with staff, product and clients plus having lives. It’s very difficult. I have mad respect for all of the owners out there, even the ones who aren’t “doing it right” because there is a lot that goes into it and first time owners are learning and struggling too. It’s a journey and should be understood some times people put too much pressure on a single person when they aren’t happy with a situation.
As for discounts, i think it’s great to offer them wisely. I think groupons and the like can be great but you have to be ready for them, this is something that I think gets missed. One studio I worked at used to have pre-groupon meetings where we all sat down and got ready for a big influx of students. This was so great for us instructors, we were told the deal, told how to work with all the new people and basically got ready for the hurricane. Groupon time has been some of the best classes I’ve ver taught because its really a lot of girls like grey eyes that never thought they’d try it but saw a good deal and spontaneously ended up on the pole- these are my favorite clients. It’s a great opportunity to share with someone who otherwise wouldn’t!
The only voucher customers I hate are the ones that are the ones that buy the deal then try to adapt it, like take classes not covered under the groupon and be moved into more advanced classes. I don’t even mind the ones that can only afford to come on voucher and will ask when is the next deal because this expensive and we all have families and lives. I think most studios do a good job cs wise with vouchers, some of the deals sting a bit, lol. By and far the biggest culprit in my area of bad treatment for voucher clients is yoga studios, they will overbook classes, not respond and when you show up treat you like a #. I don’t like that, I’m not educated in yoga so I’m buying a groupon to check out your establishment because I am the client who will throw down in unlimited packages. I’ve not seen that out of most pole studios and none in my area.
I’d also advise instructors who left a studio due to interpersonal issues and want to open a studio to reflect inside for a bit about their own behavior in the undoing of that relationship. You really have to recognize what went wrong without just blaming the owner. It takes two to undo, even if your part was small. Really reflect on the cost and work it takes to run a business. Really consider if that’s what you want to do. Maybe the owner was disconnected with you because she had a big plateful. Think about everything you saw, everything you know about the person you worked for, everything that bothered you and consider really consider if you’re ready to make that step and if you think you can do it. Not do it better, just do it. I’ve been out of studios for a year now, have looked at spaces, crunched numbers and I’m sitting here not owning a studio currently. If you do choose to open your own space, make sure you’re providing your unique product and not someone else’s and be sure to reach out your previous boss. I need a charley bubble to feel safe which why I’ve long conidered opening a space but I’ve let my 2 previous boss’s know that’s where my head is at. One even offered me a job again, lol. Being a good instructor isn’t the same as running a business.
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I didn’t charley.. You always come off diplomatic and as professional as possible. I wanted to show another side.. I agree with what you are saying. The people who are trying to change the system when they use a coupon will do that regardless. I don’t think the coupon makes them do it. I think it’s the people who are that way anyway. When I run coupons I have already put the extra classes into place, believe me there is no money is coupons…it’s advertising for me. In my opinion advertising is an expense. I prepare for it to be an expense. If it because a wash I would be thrilled…but you do retain clients from it and that is profit.
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” became a wash”
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Different formats and settings work for different clientele. Someone may find multi-level works best and some feel one pole per student is best and some love Groupon and some hate it.
It’s really a matter of trial and error in your business – you have to set up and know that you may have to change things later on as you find out what the clients in your area want or prefer. So being flexible and reading what is happening within your studio is crucial to being successful.
The other things are things that apply to everyone and every business: professionalism, consistency, good teaching technique, ongoing training for yourself and your instructors.
The last is probably the one I see most abused and the reason why our advanced certification program now requires a certain amount of continuing education in order to keep your certification current.
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These are the reasons I have stopped going to studios:
Unprofessional instructors/owners…it really pisses me off. I am your customer, treat me with respect, I am paying your bills. I work in the NHS and if I treated my patients /colleagues/ managers/ rivals the way half of instructors treat theirs I would be sacked! Learn some customer service!
I do not want to know about your personal life for 15 minutes of the lesson I am paying for, nor do I want to see personal information on your business Facebook page. Do that on your own time, in fact I don’t want to know about your personal life unless we are friends, and if we are not friends then this is a business arrangement lets keep it that way.
Lack of planning, I am coming to you to teach me, for a lesson, I am not paying for a pole jam.
Structure to classes/ courses, I expect to be warmed up, taught new or progression of moves, given an opportunity to try them, cooled down.
I want what I have paid for, I.e. If I have paid for an hour, I expect an hour, not to be setting up the class 5 minutes into my hour!
Remember where your students are, take notes or something, it is very annoying when you have been going somewhere for years and they keep asking you to do a move you have had for months. Going back to planning and customer service here, you should know where your students are up to and if you kept a track of who attends and what you have taught because you planned the session you will know what they are working towards.
Just because you are an awesome poler, you are not necessarily a good teacher, do not confuse these!
Teach me correct technique, I know you want me to achieve so I will still but I really don’t appreciate the injuries through lack of proper technique being taught, I am coming to you because I don’t know how to do it myself, if I did I wouldn’t be coming. You have a responsibility to keep me safe.Ultimately, have good customer service, pay attention, don’t wing it and plan your business and your sessions.
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Spot on Shona!!! Honestly couldn’t have said it better myself.
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Excellent points Shona. A lot of that is a lack of poor training. So many people believe that because they can pole dance decently (or at least they THINK they can) that they can teach. Even if you can instruct well, that doesn’t mean you know how to run a business well.
It appalls me to see people who teach with incorrect form and technique, putting their students at risk for injury.
The best instructors I’ve met through the pole world continue to train and learn from others. No matter how good you are, you can always learn something new.
Alethea posted something great about this when she was opening her studio…I have to see if I can find it!
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Hopefully this link works for everyone here because it’s to an image with the words written on it
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ME, I’m a assuming you mean it’s a lack of GOOD training? 🙂
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YES! LOL! A lack of GOOD training!
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I think people often open pole studios based on passion & a personally transformative experience they’ve had with pole. There’s a genuine desire to share that experience with others. But when that passion isn’t matched with clear vision, business skills (including impeccable customer service) & an effectively taught movement curriculum; it results in overwhelmed and frustrated studio owners and students.
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Here are just a few of the reasons why I’m leaving my “home studio” of a year:
1. Owner holds students “hostage” in lower levels until they have taken some ungodly number of class hours. For example, after a year of biweekly classes, I am still stuck in “Beginner 2” classes because I haven’t done the 150 class hours there. In comparison, I am in the top level at all of the other studios that I have tried. So while the other students in my class are trying to figure out basic choppers and inverted crucifixes, I’m doing self-taught ayeshas, brass monkeys, jade splits, etc., and learning absolutely nothing from the class! This is most likely why she currently only has 1 student in her “Intermediate” level and nobody in her “Advanced” level- they all left after getting stuck in a too-low level.
2. The owner “teaches” all of the classes herself, because she cannot seem to keep any of the instructors she hires or trains for more than a month. Because none of her current students want to be instructors for her, she recently brought in 3 new girls to train to be instructors that have absolutely no pole experience (some of them did ballet as kids or do yoga, but that’s as relevant as their experience is…).
3. Frequently cancels or changes class times with only a few hours notice, without providing refunds to those who can’t make it to the changed time.
4. Doesn’t warm up students- is not in the room for the first 15 minutes of class, as students are expected to do their own warm ups during that time.
5. Often simply puts up a series of combinations on the board that we are supposed to practice, while she is off doing something else or is facetiming with her boyfriend.
Honestly, after writing this out, I am shocked that this studio is still in business after 5 years!
Due to all of these reasons and more, I am finishing up the last few classes in my package there, and am transitioning to a much better studio less than 10 miles away.
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Scorpiotrickster- that really sucks! sorry you had that experience. hearing this makes me feel appreciative that I go to a great studio. I am very new and if I had gone to a studio like that one, I probably would have given up.
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I found out I lost my first two students to another studio today witch was rather upsetting as I actually felt like id let them down 🙁 xx
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